2008 Skoda Fabia Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Probably the best small car i have owned, its performance is very economical with a real turn of acceleration for a diesel. The build quality is as expected on an economy built car, its just ok. Safety wise it has loads of extra features including side bags. Cost of ownership is good , its low rated tax and diesel usage gets the best mpg off around 55-60. Its a drivers car because you feel every turn , bump and camber change in the road and have to be a driver rather than a motorist. All in all i would thouroughly recomend this wee spitfire of a car.Apr 06, 2012

had a Skoda Fabia 2011 for the day while the Polo was in for its service. This new shape Fabia is very well finished, and quite big inside, with excellent sound insulation. This was the 5dr 1.6TDI (75PS) model. So this is the same basic engine and transmission as would find in other cars in the VAG family - eg, VW Golf, Seat. Should point out that this new engine is also sold in several PS versions, not just this entry level 75PS one. As you might expect from a next generation diesel engine, economy is very good - 67MPG combined. There is a digital readout for fuel, miles, and so on. I dont like the blocks used to show fuel-how do you know if you are at the top of a block or at the bottom? The display also has a gearchange indicator, with display for the gear you are in and the gear it thinks you should be using. Looks nice, but in reality this gets rather anoying after a while. Gears and the diesel power band are not strong points in this car-the gear shifter feels a bit cheap. A 2 part design and the plastic outer section feels as though it wont last the life of the car. The 75PS engine needs plenty of gear changing too. The whole thing is not as tolerent as my Polo with its older 1.4TD - 70PS engine, even though this new Skoda is a 1.6TDI. The power band is small too - about 1400 to 2000rpm. So if you always drive in heavy traffic, this may not be the car for you. As you pick up speed, everything is very refined, and smooth, it hides most of the engine noise and 50mph feels like 30mph. Be aware that once you get to about 60mph, power output is quite flat - you may need to down shift to gear 4 for extra speed (unlike the older 1.4TDI 70PS Polo). The upside to this (and there is one), is that at this speed, you will be doing under 2000rpm and saving a lot of fuel in 5th gear (which is where the 1.4TDI Polo uses more). In the UK, this means very cheap car tax. I dont know wether the engine in 105PS form will be better, or the same as I have not driven one of those yet-i hope the little extra power makes the car more driveable.Dec 15, 2011